Asteria
by Kagoya Kyuuku
Summary: Lucy was once more in danger and Natsu tried doing everything he could to make sure he wouldn't lose her. She was the Celestial Princess and he was her dragon. Set in the timeline of 100 years quest! RnR.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys !**

 **I'm back with this rather long scrabble *ha !***

 **I was thinking to divide this into few chapters, but for some reasons I think it will be better if I just write this into two chapters.**

 **I'll update my other fics as soon as I can, but for now, just enjoy this one :3**

 **Hope you enjoy your reading !**

 **Disclaimer : We all know who own Fairy Tail (if you don't then you should open Wikipedia) :D I only own this plot.**

* * *

Natsu Dragneel was many things. He was stupid but sometimes he was so damn smart in battles, caring and protective—he treasured his guildmates after all—, super strong, and totally reliable. And super handsome.

Don't tell him that.

To Lucy, Natsu was many things except one. _Being weird_.

Well, Natsu was the one who constantly said Lucy was a weirdo, so who-knows-since-when she had stopped thinking he was a weirdo too. At least until now.

Natsu was being protective of her. Now, now, she knew Natsu had always been protective of her as his closest guildmate, but this time, he was _overly_ protective. For reasons she didn't know, Natsu practically had never left her side and glued his presence to her. The only time he let her go was only when Erza Scarlet was with her.

Lucy felt something was going on with the pink-haired dragon slayer. However, none of her other teammates were actually complaining about it, it made Lucy felt like she was just being _weird_ again. But Lucy was half-convinced that something _was_ strange about Natsu.

She enjoyed his presence, of course. No matter how hard she denied it, she totally loved it being near to him. Natsu had always been a constant presence to her, ever since she joined the guild. And after his one year leave, the more she missed his presence beside her. She was so happy he took her—and their other teammates—to the 100 year quest, because that meant she would have so much more time to spend with him.

Because Lucy could no longer denied it, she fell in love with the child of Igneel.

The feeling came naturally and Lucy didn't actually realize it until Natsu left her. She felt so lonely without him and when all their memories came rushing back to her on one night, she practically cried her eyes out. That was when she realized how important Natsu was to her and how hard she had fallen for him. Her feelings for him grew and grew as each day passed, to the point she felt her chest would burst.

When she rewrote the book of END to save Natsu, she didn't care about her burning body. All she wanted was to save the guy she truly cared about. When Natsu came back—falling from the sky actually—after the final fight with Acnologia, Lucy did everything she could to hold back her tears of joy.

Which ended up failing after her award party and caused her to hug Natsu and cried.

Lucy had always been quite sensitive to others, so she could somewhat knew how Natsu truly felt about her. She knew he took her more as just a friend, and she knew he knew she had the same feelings. But Lucy didn't want to rush anything and just wanted to take things nice and slowly. Natsu seemed caught that and he didn't rush her either.

Another reason for her to be head over heels for him.

Being a writer, Lucy had always dreamed of having a super sweet romance story with a handsome guy. If she could ask, she wanted a prince charming on a white horse. But by joining Fairy Tail, she received a super dense romance story with okay, a handsome wizard. But it wasn't a prince charming, it was a _dragon_.

Not that Lucy would complain though. She was really glad her romance interest was a dragon and not a prince charming. It sounded more right to her.

So Lucy was actually feeling overjoyed with Natsu's sudden overprotectiveness. But she couldn't understand why would Natsu did that. Did something happen which she did not aware of?

Lucy sighed. Maybe she was just being weird again.

* * *

"We should find an inn to stay over tonight." Erza said. "Then we have to look some information."

"Why don't we split up?" Lucy suggested. "I will find an inn for us, the rest of you can find what we need."

"I will come with Lucy-san!" Wendy Marvell said which earned a nod from Erza.

"Okay, then we leave our inn to you both. Happy, go with them. Gray, Natsu, let's go." Erza said and turned her body around.

Natsu and Gray Fullbuster followed but few seconds later, Natsu turned his body around and stopped on his tracks. He eyed Lucy's back who was walking further from him.

"Natsu?" Erza called.

Natsu stayed silence for a moment. "Maybe I should go with her." he mumbled.

Erza and Gray looked at each other then scoffed. Gray hit the back of Natsu's head lightly. "She'll be fine."

"Gray's right, Natsu. Lucy's not weak, you know that." Erza added. "Come on, the sooner we collect the information we need, the sooner we'll see them again."

Natsu didn't say anything but he turned his body around again and walked away. Erza and Gray looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. They knew Natsu had always looked out for Lucy and he would be the first person who got super duper worried if she was gone from his sight. But had he ever been this protective before?

* * *

Natsu tried to press down his worry while collecting some information from the townspeople. He convinced himself that he need to do his best or it would take longer for him to see Lucy again. At remembering his blonde-haired teammate, Natsu felt his worry grew deeper.

It had been a week since his team managed to seal away the previously-thought evil Earth God Dragon and Natsu could not concentrate in finding the real one. What the dragon had said to him was bugging him real bad.

Natsu was walking aimlessly after asking another inhabitant when his mind suddenly went back to what happened seven days ago.

- _Flashback_ -

 _"Folks, I present you Gargaea, the city where the Earth God Dragon supposed to exist." Gray acclaimed._

 _"Who would name their city like someone had puked their breakfast out?" Natsu blurted._

 _"Aye!"_

 _"Well anyway, let's find a place to stay." Erza commented._

 _"At least this isn't underwater so I don't have to be worried with becoming a jellyfish again." Wendy sighed in relief._

 _"Do you think those dragon eaters will come back?" Lucy asked._

 _Her question brought silence to the team. The memory of them being beaten up rushed back and noone said anything. They were somehow saved from being obliterated but none of them were sure they would come back alive if those fifth generation dragon slayers came back._

 _Lucy cleared her throat. "Let's go. We'll think about that if they really did come back."_

 _They quickly found a comfortable inn near the city border and for the purpose of budget saving, they rented a big room for all of them. Normally Natsu and Gray would end up sprawling on floor while the girls slept peacefully on the bed. Carla would sleep in Wendy's arms while Happy would just curled up on top of Lucy's head._

 _"Let's walk around the town to look for some information." Erza said. "I hope this time everything goes well."_

 _They went out from the inn and split up into two groups. Erza, Gray, Wendy, and Carla went to the East part, while Lucy, Natsu, and Happy went to the West part. They promised to meet back at the inn on sunset._

 _Lucy was asking around about the city's praised deity when her eyes caught a peculiar store. She bowed a thanks quickly to her informant and made her way to the store._

 _To her, it was quite a shady store. Shady but somehow appealing._

 _The store looked old. The walls were painted with gloomy brown. A small bell was hung from the top of the door. Lucy glanced up to see no board whatsoever that could tell her what this store was, unless she came in and asked around._

 _Urged by her curiosity, Lucy pushed the door open and a soft jiggling from the bell was heard. She entered the rather dark store and glanced around to see if the shop keeper was around._

 _"Excuse me?" she called._

 _She was answered with silence._

 _Lucy glanced around and noticed things that filled the racks along the store. Now that she looked at those things, she decided the place was more rather a shop._

 _A fortune-telling shop, she guessed. Atop of the racks were crystal balls that were commonly used for fortune-telling. Other than crystal balls, there were also fortune-telling stuffs like tarot cards and mirrors._

 _Lucy gulped down nervously as she for some reason felt a little bit uncomfortable._

 _"Um... Excuse me?" she called once more._

 _Lucy was met with another silence so she decided to turn her body around and walked out._

 _"Oh, welcome, dear."_

 _Lucy whipped her head around to see an elderly woman came out from the back of the shop. She gave the Celestial wizard a smile, but Lucy felt a sudden shiver along her spine. She gulped down and turned her body to properly faced the elder._

 _"Oh, hello. I'm sorry for interrupting. I just kinda came across your shop and I... I kinda come in." Lucy said._

 _Her brain spun. What was exactly the reason for her to come in?_

 _The elder smiled. "Oh, please don't mind that. What can I help you, young lady? Certainly a beautiful lady like you are not a fortune-teller."_

 _Lucy nervously chuckled. Something about this elderly made her very nervous. "Err, no... I—I just... Well, you see... I—I want to ask you something. About this city's deity."_

 _The elder raised an eyebrow. "Deity?"_

 _Lucy licked her lower lips. "Well I heard from the townspeople, there is a figure that has been praised in this city since a very long time."_

 _The elderly smiled. "Ah._ _ **Deity**_ _. Yes, yes, of course. There is one. We call it Madre, or the Mother."_

 _Lucy blinked her eyes. "_ _ **Mother**_ _?" she repeated. "It's not a_ _ **god**_ _?"_

 _The elder laughed. "Do gods really care about gender?" she asked back._

 _"Ah." Lucy simply said._

 _"You came in the right moment." The elder said. "Tonight, there will be a festival to honor Madre. It's just right up on that hill. You can come and enjoy the festival."_

This might be a good idea. _, Lucy thought to herself._

 _She bowed thanks to the elder and walked out of the shop. She met the others a few moments later and she told them about the festival. Of course, all of them agreed with her that they should come and see this so-called Earth God Dragon._

 _Only that night, Natsu's worst nightmare happened._

 _It had been a tradition for the townspeople to sacrifice their youngest goat to the dragon. That way, the dragon would keep its hands away from the human. Except that night, when they joined the festival, the dragon decided to take something more than just a goat._

 _Natsu didn't understand how, but the dragon instantly decided it wanted Lucy. To be given as a sacrifice, of course. For the first time in their almost 450 years of history, the dragon came out from the cave where it resided and showed itself. The townspeople ran the moment they saw it, leaving Natsu and his team alone in front of the dragon._

 _Natsu and the others were prepared to battle when the dragon gave them a quick glance. It then stretched out its hand and snatched Lucy off the ground._

 _"Lucy!" Natsu called._

 _Lucy squirmed in the dragon's grip, but she couldn't reach her keys. The dragon raised its hand to bring Lucy to its face. Her teammates were not able to do anything yet when the dragon gave her a few seconds stare and opened up its jaw. Lucy was then dropped from its hand._

 _It closed its mouth and Lucy disappeared into its stomach._

 _Natsu widened his eyes in horror while his teammates were frozen. Everything happened so fast, their brain could hardly follow. Natsu could feel his heart thumping hard against his chest as his brain replayed how Lucy disappeared into the dragon._

 _Her bright smile was the only thing Natsu remembered before he snapped._

" _LUCY!" Natsu roared._

 _The dragon turned its body around and walked back into his cave. Natsu spent no time in pursuing it, only to be slammed back to a nearby tree when the cave's enchanted barrier forbid him to enter._

 _Natsu growled and slammed his body against the barrier while crying out Lucy's name. A memory rushed back to him which made his blood boil. He_ _ **would not**_ _lose her._

 _"Natsu!" Erza put her hands on his shoulder and pulled him back. "Stop! You're hurting yourself!"_

 _"Let me go!" Natsu growled. "I'm going to get Lucy back!"_

 _"Listen to me!" Erza said sternly which earned her another glare from Natsu. "We have to think a way to destroy this barrier, but not with injuring ourselves."_

 _Wendy ran her hands along the barrier. "It's a very powerful enchantment. I don't think it'll be broken easily."_

 _"But why would the dragon take Lucy?" Gray wondered._

 _"IT ATE HER!" Happy screamed. Tears ran down along his chubby cheeks._

 _"Surely this is a good reason to deem the dragon is evil and we have to seal it." Gray added._

 _Wendy sniffed the air. "I can still smell her scent." she softly said._

 _Natsu stopped squirming upon hearing it and also took a whiff. Yep, he could still smell Lucy's scent._

 _Which means—he hoped—Lucy was still alive._

 _"Alright, we have to get her out of the dragon's stomach before she's completely gone." Erza said. "Wendy, do you think you can undo the barrier?"_

 _"I'll try." Wendy said. "I've never done this before but I'll give it a shot."_

 _"I'll go contact the guild." Gray fished out a crystal lacrima. "Maybe Grandpa could help us."_

 _"Natsu and I will go to the town to get more information about this." Erza said. "Let's go and save Lucy, Natsu."_

 _Natsu ran ahead of Erza._

* * *

 _Natsu was tempted—_ _ **really**_ _tempted—to burn down the houses because no-one would come out and helped him. The moment they saw the dragon, all of the townspeople shut themselves in. Erza's presence there was the only reason why he didn't do any damage._

 _"This maybe harder than I thought," Erza said. "Natsu, where did Lucy say she heard about the festival again?"_

 _"I dunno," Natsu growled. "She said she came across a shady shop and kinda got the information."_

 _"A shady shop..." Erza mumbled. "I think there it is."_

 _Natsu followed her gaze and saw a rather gloomy looking shop. He decided to bust in and pushed the door open._

 _He thought the door wouldn't be open at first, but boy he was wrong. The door opened just fine and Natsu stumbled inside._

 _"Well this is weird." Erza said. "When everyone else is shutting tight their doors, this one has its door open for us. Excuse me!"_

 _Natsu sniffed the air. "Someone's here alright. But the scent is starting to fade already."_

 _"Whoever lives in here, he or she must have gone somewhere already." Erza concluded. "Let's search through this place for any kind of clues."_

 _Natsu and Erza rummaged through the place, flipping everything upside down to find anything that could serve as a clue._

 _"Natsu!" Erza suddenly called._

 _Natsu made his way immediately to Erza and she opened a rather old paper. Erza read the words written quickly._

 _"They say the barrier can be broken by a strong magical tool. It's called the Crystal of Stars." Erza said. "It is the only thing strong enough to cancel out the enchantment, but it has been lost for the past two centuries."_

 _"What does it look like?" Natsu asked._

 _"Doesn't say." Erza answered. "If we want to break down that barrier, we have to find the crystal."_

 _"Another way!" Natsu exclaimed. "There has to be another way! I'm not wasting my time looking for a lost crystal while Lucy is inside that creature's stomach!"_

 _"Natsu, we don't have a choice." Erza sighed patiently. Natsu had always been so impatient if it concerned Lucy. "If we don't find the crystal, we can never save her."_

 _Erza realized fully that Natsu had feelings for her sister-like teammate—an_ _ **incredibly**_ _strong feeling actually—but she felt so irritated when Natsu jumped into doing things to save Lucy without thinking. He had never been a make-plan-then-attack person, but if it was about Lucy, he would just literally attack head-on._

 _"Erza! Natsu! Where are you?"_

 _Natsu stood up and opened the shop's door. "Happy!" he called._

 _Few seconds later, Happy showed up. "There you are! Come, come, come! Wendy is still working with the barrier but I think something is going on inside the cave!"_

 _Natsu rushed out and ran as fast as he could to the cave. When he arrived, he saw Gray was gaping at the cave. A look of bewildered adorned his face._

 _"Gray!" Natsu called._

 _"Na—Natsu..." Gray stuttered. Natsu followed his gaze and saw a golden light from inside the cave._

 _A light Natsu was familiar with. The Celestial light._

 _"LUCY!" Natsu pounded the barrier with his fist. "LUCY!"_

 _The light grew brighter and brighter, it was blinding. Natsu closed his eyes and snapped them open when he heard an explosion._

 _"LUCY!"_

 _Natsu's nose caught Lucy's scent and he realized the barrier was gone, since he could smell her really clear right now. Natsu rushed into the cave and met an unconscious Lucy lying on the ground._

 _She was covered in gooey stuff but she was breathing. Natsu craddled her into his arms and sighed in relief upon seeing her scratchless body. Natsu glanced at his side and saw the dragon was lying flat on its side, breathing heavily and its stomach was wide open._

 _"She..." The dragon spoke. "Take care of her... Or you will lose her forever... The light... The light is very powerful..."_

 _"What are you blabbering about?" Natsu hissed._

 _"Natsu! What was that explosion—whoa!" Gray appeared. "What in the bloody hell happened here?"_

 _"Explanations later." Erza came into view. "Let's seal the god dragon first."_

 _Natsu was reluctant to let go of Lucy but Erza's stern call forced him to help them. Wendy crouched beside Lucy and ran her hand on Lucy to check._

 _"The crystal rejected it. I don't think it's the Earth God Dragon." Erza slightly bounced the crystal ball. "I think it's an enchanted creature."_

" _Which means we still have to hunt the god dragon in another city. But before that, Wendy, how is she?" Gray asked._

 _"Weak, but she's okay." Wendy said. "She just need a good rest."_

 _Natsu wasted no time and put his arms around Lucy. One hand supported her neck gently but strong while the other placed itself beneath Lucy's knees. Natsu lifted her up and Lucy's head rolled aside to his chest._

 _Without a word, Natsu carried Lucy out of the cave, leaving his other teammates. All of them sighed and smiled._

 _Well, without a doubt, Natsu had fallen in love with Lucy. Hard._

- _Flahback end_ -

Natsu didn't leave Lucy's side after that and he was the first one she saw when she opened her eyes. After making sure she was okay, Erza asked her what had happened but Lucy couldn't answer her. Her memory somewhat became fuzzy and all she remembered after being eaten was her body turned warm and she wanted to get out from the dragon's stomach. Erza calmly explained that Lucy burst open the dragon's stomach using her own power.

Lucy stared at Erza blankly and laughed it off like it was a joke. But Erza reassured her it was not, saying Lucy had grown so much more powerful than before.

And ever since that moment, Natsu swore to never let Lucy out of his sight for more than half a day. Not to mention what the enchanted dragon had said. If he didn't take care of her, he would lose her. That was the only one thing Natsu didn't want to happen.

For reasons Natsu couldn't understand, Lucy had always been the one who got beaten. Be it when she had just joined the guild and was beaten up by Gajeel, or when she got beaten up by Kain during their S-Class Trial. Not to mention when she was tortured during the Naval Battle in Grand Magic Games, and the most unforgettable memory for Natsu was when her future self died in front of him.

Natsu felt a part of him was gone when he saw Future Lucy's lifeless body. He couldn't—or rather didn't—want to think how would he feel if the Present Lucy was gone. No Present Lucy, no Future Lucy.

That was something that Natsu would not let happen. No matter what. He would gladly give his life if it meant he could keep her safe. For him, Lucy was the most important person in his life.

Natsu let out a small smile. He lifted up his head and his onyx eyes stared at the white clouds. He might be dense, but he could recognize his feelings just fine. For him, Lucy Heartfilia was many things. She was graceful, beautiful, smart, warm, strong, and basically all of the good stuffs. Even her weirdness was something appealing to him. The moment she joined the guild, Natsu could not think how he would spend a day without seeing her smile.

Lucy Heartfilia was many things, but above all, she was the woman he loved.

Yep. Natsu wasn't afraid to admit it to himself. He didn't know when and how, but he knew he loved the Celestial wizard. She had always been the most important person to him, even more than Lisanna who was his closest childhood friend. Except Gray and Erza of course. Natsu didn't know when and how, but he knew he loved her with all his heart the moment he couldn't tear his gaze away from Lucy's warm chocolate eyes. As day went by, his feelings grew and grew to the point he felt like he was about to burst. Even when he left her a year ago—heartbroken of course, but he knew he didn't have a choice. He had to be stronger in order to make sure he could always protect Lucy—she was the last thing on his mind before he drifted into sleep and the first thing on his mind when he opened his eyes. He pushed himself to be way stronger than before, because all he ever wanted was to keep Lucy safe.

But he knew Lucy didn't want to rush things, that was why he had kept his feelings shut. He knew that Lucy also shared the same feelings as him, but just like her, he also wanted to take things naturally.

Lucy Hearfilia was the only woman the fire dragon slayer had and would always loved.

* * *

"Nice inn." Gray commented. "It's actually looked like a hotel. Isn't this expensive?"

"We thought so too earlier." Lucy answered. "But because of certain things, this city has not been getting lots of customers, so they rented it quite cheap."

Erza raised an eyebrow. "Certain things?"

Lucy nodded. "They say the weather here has been quite unstable. It can be a sudden downpour when the sun is shining brightly a minute before. The tourists don't like the sudden weather change so they stopped coming to this city."

"Why do I feel like that's a bad news?" Erza scoffed.

"Worth time to check." Gray commented.

"Maybe we can take a walk around the city." Lucy added.

On her remark, a sudden downpour happened.

"Holy," Gray mumbled under his breath. "is this really a simple rain? Feels like we're under a waterfall."

"No wonder tourists don't want to come here anymore." Lucy sighed. "Who would want to spend their entire day—whoa."

"Luce!"

Natsu caught the stumbling Lucy and used his hands to support her. He clutched her hand tight while his other hand placed itself on her back. His eyes were glued on Lucy in worry.

"Lucy? You're okay?" Gray asked, worry apparent in his voice.

"I'm fine." Lucy panted. "My head just feels heavy all of a sudden."

Erza placed her palm on Lucy's forehead. "Lucy, this is a terrible fever! Why didn't you say anything before?"

Lucy felt her head pounded even stronger. "I—I'm fine. It's just suddenly..." she trailed off and went limp suddenly in Natsu's arms.

"Lucy!" Natsu called and scooped her in his arms. He placed her on the bed and glued his eyes on her heavy breathing.

Gray placed his palm on her forehead and worked his magic to cool her off. Wendy scanned her and smiled. She looked at the worried Natsu. "It's just a fever, Natsu-san. She'll be fine after a good night rest."

"Gray, keep working your magic." Erza said. "In the meantime, Natsu, why don't you tell us the reason why you become so overprotective of Lucy these past few days. Now I know she's an important person to you, but you're acting strange."

Natsu glanced at Erza but didn't say anything.

"Natsu, whatever the reason which causes you to be this overprotective, tell us. I don't mean to pry, but we're your family. Lucy's our sister. Let us share the burden of taking care of her with you." Erza said softly while placing her hand on his shoulder.

Natsu still didn't say anything and instead ran his fingers on Lucy's parted hair. She was still panting and Gray was still trying to cool her down. He stroke her cheek gently.

"That enchanted dragon," he croaked. "he said I—we—have to take care of Lucy, or we will lose her."

No-one said anything and only Lucy's pantings could be heard.

"I don't know what it meant, but I know that there's a chance I will lose her. Just like that time." Natsu said. "And I'm not taking the chance."

Erza's gaze softened. Of course she knew about the Future Lucy's death. The entire guild knew. It happened when Happy cried his eyes out because Lucy hadn't gone back home yet from her mission with Levy. She promised to return in three days, but they still hadn't gone back after five days had past. Natsu and Gajeel pestered the Master to let them go and find the girls, with Happy cried at the background and said he was scared Lucy would die, just like her future self did. Makarov was tempted to let the two dragon slayers go after hearing Happy's cry, but then the guild's door opened and battered—but very much alive and well—Lucy and Levy showed up.

Happy and Lily gave the two girls a cat-crushing hug and they were greeted with a tight hug from the two dragon slayers.

That was when the guild realized how important Lucy and Levy were for the dragon slayers. Though they couldn't believe how the dense Natsu could ever showed such an honest act.

"Natsu," Erza gave a reassuring squeeze on Natsu's shoulder. "I promise there won't be anything that will hurt her."

Natsu didn't say anything but gave a small nod as his reply.

"If her fever is not coming down by tomorrow, we have to find some medicine." Gray said. "Let's hope there won't be any downpour again tomorrow."

"We should get some rest for today." Erza said. "We still have to find the god dragon's whereabouts. Natsu, spread the bed for you and Gray."

Natsu looked up and stared at Erza. "Can I... Can I stay with her tonight?"

Erza widened her eyes at Natsu's soft whisper but then smiled. "Of course. I will sleep with Gray."

"Man, talk about in love," Gray muttered. "you're the last person I imagine falling in love. With Lucy nonetheless. Why do I feel so weird all of the sudden?"

"Maybe because she's like a sister to you," Carla commented. "wait a minute, does that mean if Lucy and Natsu got married, Natsu will be your brother-in-law?"

Gray spat. "I don't want to be Natsu's brother-in-law!"

"We're a family already, Gray, does that even matter?" Erza snorted while spreading her bed and Gray's.

Gray snorted but didn't say anything back. He lifted his palm and glanced at Natsu. "If her body temperature rises up again, wake me up."

Natsu nodded.

"I'll cast a healing spell on Lucy-san," Wendy worked her magic. "this will ease her pain."

"Thanks, Wendy." Natsu ruffled the young dragon slayer's head affectionately.

"Okay! Lights off, everybody!" Happy flew to the lamp switch and flipped it.

Natsu crawled into the bed while Wendy entered the bed from the other side. Natsu wrapped his arms around Lucy's neck and back, bringing her close to him and hugged her tight. She was still panting, but her breathing was getting softer. Natsu listened to her breathing rhythm and let it be his lullaby.

Natsu brushed out a strand of hair on Lucy's cheek and dipped down.

"Goodnight, Luce." he softly whispered and gave Lucy's forehead a chaste kiss.

* * *

Gray was dreaming about him and Juvia watching the snowfall together, when his dream abruptly stopped. His consciousness slowly came back as he could feel repeated kicks on his side. He cracked an eye open and saw Happy was looking at him in annoyance.

"Finally!" The blue cat huffed. "Wake up, Gray!"

"Huh?" he croaked. "What is it?"

Happy's face scrunched in worry and Gray snapped his eyes open. "Lucy's in pain," Happy sniffled. "she's been struggling in Natsu's arms and her body is really hot. Wendy's working on her but it doesn't work."

Gray stood up immediately and walked towards the bed. Now that the light was on, Gray could see Lucy was shivering under the blanket.

"Man, is she okay?" Gray muttered while placing his hand on her forehead. He hissed upon the first contact. Her forehead was practically burning.

Lucy squirmed and tried to get away from Gray's ice subconsciously. She cuddled further to Natsu and he clasped her hands tighter. Her entire body might be hot but her appendages were so cold.

"Lucy, don't squirm," Gray said. "I can't bring your temperature down if you keep tossing around!"

"Luce, hey," Natsu whispered softly on Lucy's ear. "it's okay. It's Gray. He's trying to help."

"This isn't going well." Erza huffed. "Happy, let's find a doctor."

"Aye!" Happy wiped a tear away. "Wait for us, Lucy!"

Gray poured more magic into his hand and Lucy tossed around. It took Natsu everything to keep her in place. It pained him badly to see the love of his life writhed in pain like this.

Don't tell Gray he just called her that.

"Something's wrong with her magic." Wendy muttered. "It's so unstable, I think that's the reason why she got a sudden fever."

Natsu glanced at Wendy. "What do you mean? She's completely fine up until yesterday!"

Wendy shook her head softly. "I'm also confused, Natsu-san. But her magic feels so unstable. It's almost like..."

"Two different power trying to outmatch each other?"

Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and Carla turned their heads to see who was the other party that had just spoke.

"Loke?" Gray raised an eyebrow. "What are you doing here, man?"

Loke gave a small smile and made his way to Lucy. He ran his fingers softly on Lucy's cheek and he eyed his master in pain. He could not do that for a long time though, because Natsu gave him a low growl on the next second.

He quickly retreated his hand as he didn't want to make enemies with the dragon that was so overprotective of his master.

"I cannot stay here for a long time and I don't have much time to explain things," Loke started. "but you have to get Lucy out of here. It's not safe. The light is too strong, it will take her."

"What are you talking about?" Natsu spat.

Loke's body flickered and he clicked his tongue. "I guess it's too late. Keep her safe, Natsu. Don't let her go out of your sight..." Loke trailed off and then he was gone.

Carla blinked her eyes in confusion. "He goes as fast as he appears. What was that all about?"

Loke's words lingered in Natsu's mind. _The light is too strong_.

What did that mean?

* * *

 **Meanwhile, in Lucy's subconscious...**

It felt so hot. Really damn hot. It was totally different from Natsu's fire. His fire was hot but made her all giddy. She didn't know what this was, but she knew she didn't like the heat. It somehow felt familiar to her though it felt so foreign as well.

It was like... The warmth from her Celestial light which was mixed with fire from hell. Cozy but burning.

Lucy forced open her eyes and saw she was floating in a space. Not a dark one, but a _golden_ one. The same color as her own Celestial magic.

"Where is this..." she muttered.

 _Come here_.

Lucy turned her head around upon hearing the stern voice. It sounded like a male but Lucy didn't recognize it.

"Who's there?" she asked.

 _Come here_.

"Who's there?!" Lucy asked again. A chill ran through her spine and she remembered how she felt when she was talking to the elderly woman in the fortune-telling shop. Something about the voice made her shuddered.

 _Come here_., the voice repeated. _Set me free_.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded. "What do you want from me?"

 _Set me free_. _Let me be free_.

"How—how do I do that?" Lucy dared herself to ask. "How do I set you free?"

 _Come here_.

"Where to?" Lucy asked. For some reasons she felt like she was not herself, her consciousness was slipping away. She noticed she was responding to the voice, but it wasn't her brain that made her do it.

More like, she was answering to the voice by instinct.

 _Come here_. _I will be waiting_.

Then the voice was gone, her surrounding turned into black, and Lucy felt herself plunged into the darkness. But she could not react. Her body felt so weak and she could not muster any coherent thoughts.

"...ce!"

What was that?

"...ce! ...ce!"

Was... Was someone calling her? She felt like she knew the voice that was calling her.

"...ce! ...uce!"

Who was it? Who was calling her? Why did she feel so familiar?

"...LUCE!"

Her consciousness suddenly went back and Lucy snapped her eyes open. She gasped for air and her eyes were widened in fear.

"Holy shit!" Gray cursed when Lucy suddenly sat up. Not to mention her wide eyes which were suddenly opened. "Jeez, Lucy, you scared the hell out of me!"

Lucy eyed her surrounding and was met with her teammates' worried looks.

"Luce," A strong calloused hand placed itself on her cheek gently and Lucy turned her head. Her shivering chocolate orbs met Natsu's own worried but warm onyx eyes. "are you okay? You were tossing like crazy and I—I thought—I thought... I don't even know what I was thinking of."

Lucy took a moment to study those pair of onyx eyes. "N... Natsu?" she croaked.

Natsu broke a smile and he gently caressed Lucy's cheek. "Hey."

"I..." Lucy gulped down. "What did just happen?"

At her question, Gray pulled her down on the bed once more and placed his cold hand on her forehead. " _You_ tell us what happened. Now just shut up and let me bring your temperature down."

* * *

One of the reason why Lucy loved Natsu so much was because he could give her the warmth no-one else could. It was so comforting. Or then maybe it was because of her strong feelings for him, so no matter what he did, it would always be comfortable for her.

Including those times where he would barge into her house without permission. No matter how Lucy disliked that, she knew she would always accept his presence inside of her house. It wouldn't be complete without him beside her.

Because Natsu was her home.

"The doctor's away for duties," Erza sighed. "Lucy, are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Lucy gave a big smile.

Gray placed his palm on her forehead once more. "Yeah, no more burning up."

"And your magic's stable again now." Wendy let out a relieved smile.

"Natsu worked his magic all night to keep you warm!" Happy touched Lucy's hands with his paws. "Now your hands are so warm!"

"Thank you guys." Lucy smiled. She then turned her head to face Natsu. "And thank you, Natsu. Sorry I kept you all awake the whole night."

Natsu gave her his toothy grin. He casually rubbed her knuckles gently and Lucy let him be. Honestly, they didn't need words to tell how strong their feelings were for each other. Their teammates understood that the two of them were a couple without them having to say it out loud.

Lucy enjoyed the rest of her morning in laughter as she chatted with her teammates. And she leaned into Natsu's warm hug casually. It felt so complete and no-one would say otherwise.

A voice could be heard from within her subconscious but she pushed it away.

She didn't recognize who that voice belonged to and she didn't feel like telling her teammates about her nightmare. Well, could that be called as a nightmare? She didn't feel like it was just a dream.

 _Come here_. _Set me free_.

* * *

 **Done !**

 **This is the first time I have ever written a chapter this long *grin***

 **So, what do you think ?**

 **Don't forget to leave your reviews :D**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys !**

 **I'm back with the second *and the last* chapter !**

 **Hope you enjoy your reading :3**

 **Disclaimer : We all know who own Fairy Tail (if you don't then you should open Wikipedia) :D I only own this plot.**

* * *

The team was planning to take a tour around the city after lunch when another sudden downpour happened. The sky turned so dark and the water blocked the sight.

Gray sighed while sat on top of the bed. "This is depressing."

"Well, this rain _does_ seem abnormal." Erza said while watching carefully. "I don't think this is a natural phenomena."

"Like when the Celestial spirits went Eclipsed?" Happy asked.

"Yeah." Erza replied. "But there's nothing strange going on in the Celestial world, isn't it?"

At Erza's question, Natsu, Gray, Wendy, and Carla's bodies tensed. That of course didn't slip away from Titania's sharp eyes. She raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" she demanded.

Wendy and Carla didn't dare to lift up their heads while Gray and Natsu glanced at each other. Natsu nodded his head and Gray let out a sigh.

"Loke came yesterday night." Gray said. "He said to take Lucy out of here because it isn't safe. He said something about the light is too strong, whatever that means."

"Lucy, try summoning Loke." Erza said.

Lucy nodded her head and fished out Loke's key from her belt.

"Open, gate of the Lion! Loke!" she commanded.

Nothing happened. Lucy stared at her key and complained. "Not again!"

"The silver key. It's supposed to work." Erza said.

Lucy fished out her silver key and thrust it forward. "Open, gate of the Southern Cross! Crux!"

A golden light appeared and Crux showed himself.

"Lucy-sama!" Crux exclaimed. "You have to go, please!"

"Crux, calm down," Lucy said. "tell me what happen. What's wrong?"

Crux clasped Lucy's hands tight. "Please, please, you have to run from here, Lucy-sama! We will do everything we can to defend our world, but we need you to go!"

"What? Hold on, are you saying the Celestial World is under attack?" Lucy asked confusedly.

"Run! Don't look back!" Crux urged. "For us, it's better to lose our world than to lose our Lucy-sama! Please, you have to go!"

"Crux, what are you saying—" Lucy's words were cut as Crux's body started to flicker. "Crux! Wait!"

"Remember, Lucy-sama, run!" Crux repeated then he vanished.

Leaving Lucy and the others in complete confusion.

"Well," Erza broke the silence. "at least now we know that this abnormal weather is caused by disturbance in the Celestial World. _Again_. Though I don't see any battle scratch on Crux."

"He specifically said to run from _here_ ," Lucy repeated. "what's in here?"

"I don't know whether the old man's referring to weather phenomena or not, but he's right. We should go." Gray took a step back from the window. "I can see a nasty hurricane's coming this way."

Erza gasped and stared outside. Yeah, she could see a rather big swirling wind was making its way to the city. "We have to go now. Lucy, can you stand?"

Lucy got up from Natsu's hold and nodded. "I'm perfectly fine."

"Natsu, take care of her. Gray and I will bring our luggage. Wendy, Carla, Happy, lead the way. Come on." Erza led.

They opened the door and rushed out of the inn as fast as they could. The townspeople also ran out of their houses in a hurry. Lucy was about to be blown away by the strong force of the wind if it wasn't because of Natsu held her hands tight.

 _Come here_.

Lucy widened her eyes as the voice got louder in her head.

 _Come here_. _Set me free_.

Lucy's consciousness slipped away and she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes went blank.

"Luce?" Natsu turned his body around to see Lucy was dazing off. "Luce! Hey!" he waved his hand in front of her.

 _Come here_. _Set me free_.

The voice was so much louder now, Lucy could hear it clearly in her head.

 _Who are you_?, she asked back inside.

 _Say it_. _Say you will set me free_.

Lucy opened her mouth to speak but it felt like her jaws and muscle had been frozen. Natsu was shaking her arms strongly but she could feel her consciousness was fading deeper.

 _Say it_.

Lucy tried to move her mouth. "...I," she croaked softly. "I will... set you free."

"Luce!" Natsu tried to snap her back.

"What is it, Natsu?" Erza asked.

"She's not responding me!" Natsu spat back. "She suddenly dazed off and I can't snap her back to her senses!"

The hurricane was getting dangerously close to the city right now.

"We have to go or we will be blown away by the wind!" Gray shouted, fighting off the loud noise of the wind.

"Luce!" Natsu called.

 _Say my name_. _The name of the prisoner that you are about to freed_.

 _Who are you_?, Lucy asked back.

 _You know who I am_. _Say my name_.

Lucy's body suddenly glowed bright and Natsu had to take a step back to cover his eyes from the blinding light.

 _Say my name_.

Lucy tried to move her mouth once more and the light grew brighter.

"Asteria."

The moment Natsu's sharp ears caught Lucy's soft voice spoke that word, the wind and the light suddenly disappeared. Natsu quickly opened his eyes and he saw Lucy was looking up at the sky. She stayed that way for a few more seconds before closing her eyes shut and fell to the ground.

"Luce!" Natsu craddled her head. "Luce!"

"What... was that?" Gray asked in confusion.

"Luce! Why won't you open your eyes!" Natsu screamed. The memory of her lying there motionless and with blood covering her eyes rushed back to Natsu.

"Luce! Why won't you..." he suddenly trailed off as his sharp ears heard something unusual. "...Luce?"

"Natsu, what's wrong?" Erza asked.

Natsu took another few seconds of silence before widened his eyes in fear. "She..." he croaked. "Lucy's not breathing."

* * *

Natsu cried when he lost the Future Lucy but he stood up and fought against the Future Rogue. Natsu cried when he lost Igneel but he stood up and went off somewhere to make himself stronger. No matter how sad he was, Natsu would always stood back up.

But that wasn't the case this time.

Natsu cradled Lucy's head in his arms but he didn't say anything. He just cradled her in silence. Sobs were heard from Wendy and Happy but Natsu showed them his back. Gray punched a nearby tree and mourn over his sister-like motionless body.

Erza and Carla just sat somewhere near with their heads lowered down. No-one said anything but everyone knew Natsu had just lost a part of him.

Everything happened so fast, just like when Lucy was eaten by the enchanted dragon. Only this time, they knew for sure that Lucy had died. She had stopped breathing.

Tears flowed down along Natsu's cheeks but he could not muster any sobs. He cradled Lucy's head tighter and few drops of his tears fell on top of her face. Natsu knew he was hurting for losing the woman he loved, but honestly, he could not feel anything. All he could do was letting his tears came out.

"We—we should return to Magnolia." Erza croaked. "We have to bring Lucy back."

At Titania's statement, Natsu turned his head around and glared at Erza. "No! I'm not letting her be too far from me!"

Erza didn't dare to look at Natsu.

"But, Natsu—"

"She's not dead!" Natsu cut Gray's words. "She's still warm! She's not dead!"

"Na—Natsu..." Happy sniffled. "She... She stopped breathing."

"She's not dead!" Natsu repeated. "I'm not letting you guys take her away from me!"

"Natsu..."

"No! Leave us alone!" Natsu shouted.

His other teammates fell into silence. Natsu had always been so strong, this would be the first time they saw him so... _weak_.

Erza remembered what Gajeel had told her few days before they started the 100 years quest. He said that for a dragon slayer, love was the most important thing in their lives. Dragon slayers only fell in love once and they loved for eternity. Didn't matter whether their love interest reciprocated their feelings or not. But if their love interest reciprocated their feelings and agreed to be their mates, dragon slayers would love them twice as hard. They lost their mates, they lost half of themselves for good.

Mating came in a form of two steps. The first step was emotionally, where the dragon slayers and their mates somewhat agreed with each other that they were an item. The emotional mating didn't need any words, because both parties understood each other completely. If the mate was willing to, then the _real_ mating would happen.

The second step was physically, where the dragon slayers and their mates, well, _mated_. The dragon slayers would put their claim mark somewhere on their mates' body. The mark served as long-distance warning, to keep other dragon slayers away from their mates.

Now Erza knew Natsu had not claimed Lucy physically, but she knew they had reached the first step of mating. Lucy was basically his mate right now, losing her meant he had lost another half of himself.

Just then, a voice broke the silence.

"Anyone! Anyone can hear me? Erza?"

Erza was snapped back to the reality and it took her a moment to realize the voice was coming from the communication lacrima she brought. She fished the lacrima out and she was greeted by Makarov's worried look.

"Master?" she called.

"Where is Lucy? Is she okay?" Makarov asked.

Erza forced a formed lump down her throat. "She's... I don't know, Master."

"Oh no, no, no, don't tell me she's gone." Makarov said.

"She's not gone, old man!" Natsu spat back.

"Is her body still warm?" Makarov asked.

Erza blinked her tears away. "Yes, Master."

"Oh good, we still have time." Makarov breathed in relief. "Natsu, listen to me. Like you said, Lucy's not dead."

Now _that_ got Natsu's full attention.

"Basically speaking, her soul has left her body but we still have time to retrieve it. Listen, Natsu, Yukino of Sabertooth is here. She told us that she has difficulties in summoning her spirits. Though when she _did_ manage to summon Libra, she said the Celestial Princess is in danger and the spirits must defend their world. Then she disappeared and Yukino's luck stopped there." Makarov said.

"Wait, that's exactly what Crux said!" Happy sniffled. "But what about this Celestial Princess?"

"Celestial Princess is the term we used to describe the strongest Celestial wizard alive." Yukino's face came into view. "In this time, that will be Lucy-sama."

"Wait, what kind of danger are we talking about?" Gray asked.

"Libra told me another name. Asteria." Yukino replied. "I did some research about it but all I know is that it is the name of the Heaven Dragon."

"Asteria?" Natsu mumbled. "That is the word Lucy muttered before she lost her consciousness."

"We have a better resources in the library about her." Makarov said. "As she is the Heaven Dragon, she has the power to control the wind."

"The hurricane!" Wendy gasped. "It might be her doing!"

"Now, here's the interesting part. Asteria is actually a _Celestial Dragon_. She was the alter ego of the Celestial King and served as the balancer of the world. However, she was exiled to the human world around 500 years ago because she tried to take the throne by force." Makarov continued. "Because she is a part of the Celestial World, her powers include manipulating light."

"Are you saying the reason why Lucy has stopped breathing is because of Asteria?" Erza asked.

"Correct." Makarov replied. "The city you are in right now are one of the cities which serve as the pillar that divides our world with the Celestial World. That and also Lucy being the Celestial Princess makes it easy for Asteria to come in contact with Lucy. We believe she is using Lucy's soul to escape her imprisonment and enhance her magic power."

"What is her goal?" Erza asked.

"To destroy the Celestial World." Makarov replied. "Or at least to snatch the throne away from the Celestial King."

"How can I save her?" Natsu asked.

"You must find Asteria." Makarov answered. "You have to take Lucy's soul back before tomorrow's sunrise."

"What?" Carla shrieked. "That's not enough time!"

"The Crystal of Stars!" Yukino said. "It's a powerful magical tool which was created by Asteria to defeat the Celestial King! You can use the crystal to find Asteria!"

"But the crystal has been lost for centuries, right?" Erza asked. "How do we even find it?"

"How do you even know that?" Gray asked back.

"Back in the city where Lucy was gulped down by the enchanted dragon, me and Natsu found the information of the crystal. They said it is the only tool powerful enough to break the barrier but of course Lucy destroyed it herself." Erza answered.

" _Gulped down_?" Mirajane stepped into view.

"She's okay." Erza replied. "So, Yukino, how do we find the crystal?"

"The Celestial magic." Yukino answered. "The crystal can only be used once more, that's why Asteria decided to take Lucy-sama's soul rather than using the crystal. Not to mention it has been lost from her grip ever since she was exiled. Since Lucy-sama is the Celestial Princess, her body will react to the crystal! Its last whereabouts is in the city you guys are in right now!"

"Good!" Gray fisted his hands in excitement. "Then there's a high chance it's still here!"

"If the crystal is nearby, it will react to Lucy-sama's magical power." Yukino said.

"Natsu, listen, right now Lucy's soul is unstable because both Lucy and Asteria are fighting for dominance. You have to rip her soul out of the dragon before she lose the battle." Makarov said.

"The Celestial light cannot be extinguished that easily. There's still a little bit of her power left which will help you in finding the crystal." Yukino added.

"The light is too strong," Gray recited what Loke had said. "maybe the light that Loke was talking about is Asteria's."

"Well anyway, you have to hurry! You have about one day to save her." Makarov dismissed. "Good luck, you brat! And bring her back!"

Then the communication died down. Natsu glanced down at the unconscious Lucy in his arms. She looked like she was sleeping rather than not breathing. Natsu wiped his remaining tears and hugged Lucy tight.

"I'll bring you back, I promise." he whispered.

Then, he heard that warm voice in his head. The voice of the woman he loved. Lucy's voice.

 _Natsu_.

* * *

Natsu took Lucy's body around the city while carrying her in his arms. Gray volunteered to switch with him so that he could rest his hands, but all he got was a death glare and a low growl from Natsu.

"Okay, okay," Gray snorted. "you possessive flame-bastard."

When they were nearing a warehouse, Lucy's body thumped. It was faint, Natsu would miss it if it weren't because of his sharp hearing. Natsu stopped in his tracks.

"Is it here, Natsu?" Erza asked.

Natsu waited for a few more seconds and Lucy's body thumped once more. "Yep. In that warehouse."

"Well, then we should enter this place." Erza slashed the padlock with her sword and opened the door.

"There. Further at the back." Natsu led the way. "Her thumping is getting stronger."

They entered the back of the warehouse and their eyes immediately caught something. There, lied in the center of the room, was a dirty crystal ball.

" _That_?" Gray asked. "Doesn't look like the crystal of _stars_."

Lucy's body thumped once more. " _That_ is it." Natsu said.

The crystal then glowed and Lucy's body thumped again. It then shot a bright golden light to the roof and they looked up. Slowly, a picture showed itself from within the light. A picture of a ruins. The light then disappeared and the crystal broke into two.

"Hold on, I recognized those ruins." Wendy said. "I accidentally saw it in the woods on our way here."

"Great, let's go." Natsu turned his body. They then went out from the warehouse only to be greeted with angry townspeople.

"We cannot let the girl leave this place." The townspeople said in unison. All of them raised their hands which were holding different types of weapons.

"Oookay." Gray put his hands together. "I freeze them, yeah?"

"Wait, Gray, they are enchanted." Erza summoned her sword. "Don't hurt them too much."

"Leave the girl here and you may go." The townspeople said.

"Get the fuck out of my way." Natsu growled. "Happy, Carla, I leave Lucy to you both."

"Aye!" Happy flapped his wings and took Lucy carefully from Natsu's arm. Carla helped him by carrying her legs.

Natsu lunged himself at the townspeople and gave each one of them a good punch. Gray followed him while Erza smacked the others with the back of her sword. Wendy blew them away with her wind, knocking them unconscious. The townspeople tried to attack but Natsu charged his way forward.

"I gotta say thanks for his short temper," Gray punched another. "he's very good in creating a path."

They were almost out of the city when a barrier suddenly repelled Natsu.

"The hell?" he cursed.

"Another barrier." Gray muttered.

Erza clicked her tongue. "Now that the crystal is broken, we can't use it to break this barrier."

Natsu gritted his teeth as anger boiled up inside of him. He couldn't keep wasting time in here while he knew Lucy's soul was in danger. Nothing and no-one could stop him into bringing Lucy back to his arms.

Natsu activated his Lightning Fire Dragon mode and his teammates took a few steps back instantly. Even Happy and Carla didn't fly near Natsu. He took a deep breath and then opened his mouth.

"ROAR OF THE LIGHTNING FIRE DRAGON!"

The fire and the lightning was so intense it created a crack on the barrier the moment it touched. Few seconds later, the crack was getting bigger and the barrier broke.

Natsu's roar stopped and smoke covered his mouth.

"Nice one, Natsu!" Gray said.

"Let's go!"

They rushed out of the city and entered the woods as the sun had finally set.

* * *

 **In Lucy's subconsciousness...**

"Hello, Lucy."

Lucy slowly opened her eyes and winced upon seeing her bright surrounding. When her eyes were fully opened, Lucy saw a beautiful lady floating in front of her.

"Where am I? Who are you?" Lucy asked.

The lady smiled. She had a beautiful long golden hair with a pair of yellow eyes. She was wearing a white dress. To Lucy, she looked like... a _goddess_.

"We are inside of you, Lucy," The lady answered softly. "my name is Asteria."

"Asteria..." Lucy mumbled. "You... You're the one who asked me to set you free."

Asteria nodded. "Thank you for setting me free."

"So, are you free right now?" Lucy asked.

"Not quite yet." Asteria shook her head. "There is another thing I have to do before I can be completely free. Will you help me, Lucy?"

"What is it?" Lucy asked.

"Before we go to that, why don't we sit down and let me tell you a story." Asteria smiled and waved her hand.

The scenery changed and Lucy found herself was sitting on top of a grass field with Asteria beside her. The wind was blowing gently. Lucy looked at Asteria and wondered why she felt so in peace with her. Before when she heard her voice for the first time, she felt somewhat scared. Asteria's voice was deep and low—just like a male's voice—and it sent a shiver down her spine. But right now, her fear was not present and she instead enjoyed Asteria's presence.

"This is a story of 450 years ago, when dragons are still here." Asteria started. Her voice was so soothing and calming. Lucy felt like she doesn't want to wake up anymore so she could hear Asteria's voice forever.

"Dragons don't only exist in Earth Land, but also in Celestial World." Asteria continued. "A long time ago, along with the King, a dragon was created to serve as the King's alter ego. The two of them existed to balance the Celestial World. The King served as the representation of light and the dragon served as the representation of dark. Both of them lived in harmony while the King ruled over the Celestial World."

"What did the dragon rule over?" Lucy asked.

"The contract between the spirits and their masters." Asteria answered. "The dragon's task is to make sure there is no contract that has been violated. If there is, then it is the dragon's duty to punish the spirits."

"Like Loke and Karen." Lucy said.

"Yes, like Loke and Karen." Asteria repeated. "But in their case, the King served as the judge because he has taken over the dragon's task."

"Why?" Lucy asked.

Asteria smiled. "Because the King envied the dragon. The King wanted the throne to be all his, so he decided to banish the dragon away. But he cannot do that without a concrete reason, that is why he planned something evil."

"Something evil?" Lucy asked.

"Very evil." Asteria answered. "He started to treat the dragon very badly. He forbid the dragon from entering the Celestial World and ordered the dragon to stay in the border between the human and the Celestial world. After centuries of being mistreated, the dragon decided to rise up against the King."

Lucy's eyes started to drop as she felt so sleepy and her consciousness is fading away. Asteria stroke Lucy's hair softly and smiled.

"So the dragon stood against the King," Asteria continued. "the dragon tried everything it could to defeat the King but instead it got defeated. The King then used the betrayal as the perfect reason to exile the dragon. He then banished the dragon to Earth Land."

A tear trickle down along Lucy's cheek and she closed her eyes. "Poor dragon."

"Poor, indeed," Asteria said. "so, Lucy, will you help this dragon to reclaim its place in the Celestial World? To get rid of the evil King?"

"I will." Lucy answered softly.

"Will you set the dragon free?" Asteria asked. "Will you set _me_ free?"

"Yes, Asteria." Lucy whispered.

Asteria smiled wickedly. "Then you shall give your power to me and let me devour your soul. You will be a part of me and serve as the main source of my energy. The Celestial's energy."

"Yes."

"You will forget everything about your human life. Your friends, your family, your parents, your spirits, your beloved, everyone and everything." Asteria whispered.

"Yes."

Asteria's smile grew wider. "Very well, Lucy."

Lucy's consciousness was about to disappear when a name flashed in her mind. She recognized the name and she longed to call it. Lucy tried to open her mouth slightly and whispered the name.

 _Natsu_.

* * *

 _Natsu_.

There it was again. Natsu could hear Lucy's voice inside of his head again. She was calling him. It was so faint, like a soft whisper. Natsu quickened his pace.

He arrived at the ruins just when the ruins was starting to glow.

"Natsu!" Happy called as he came down to put Lucy's body on the ground. "Lucy's body starts to glow again!"

Natsu clicked his tongue. Whatever the reason was which caused Lucy's body to glow, it must be connected to the glowing ruins. Just then, the ground rumbled and the trees shook.

"What's going on?" Erza said.

The ruins shook harder and crumbled down as a beautiful lady appeared from below the ruins. She was glowing bright and Lucy's body glowed brighter.

"You must be Asteria!" Wendy said.

"Ara," Asteria opened her eyes. "who are you people?"

"Give me Lucy back!" Natsu growled.

"Ah, you're Lucy's friends." Asteria smiled. "I'm sorry, she's gone. I have devoured her soul completely."

"That's a lie! You're lying!" Happy snorted.

"No, I'm not, cat," Asteria hissed. "she has agreed to sacrifice her soul for me so that I can defeat the Celestial King and rule over! Ahahaha!"

Natsu fired up his fists. "Lucy will never help the likes of you!"

Asteria's laughter died down and she glared at Natsu. "Too bad you're wrong. She _did_ agree to help me."

"You must have tricked her, you witch!" Natsu cursed.

"How dare you call me witch!" Asteria roared in anger. "I am Asteria! I am the Celestial Dragon!"

"Yeah? Then I am the fire dragon slayer!" Natsu lounged at Asteria. "Fire Dragon's Iron Fist!"

Asteria blocked it with both of her hands. Gray saw the opportunity and put his hands together. "Ice Make, Lance!"

Asteria squinted her eyes and repelled Gray's attack with her wind. "Fools!" Asteria mocked. "You can never beat me!"

"Shut the fuck up!" Natsu kicked Asteria's gut.

"How dare you!" Asteria winced in pain and moved her hand. "Die, you moron!"

The wind appeared in the form of scythes. Natsu crossed his hands to defend himself.

"Natsu, dodge!" Happy screamed.

The wind passed through Natsu and he looked in confusion.

"Natsu!" Gray screamed.

Natsu put down his hands. "I... I'm okay." he said.

"Impossible!" Asteria said. "How come my wind did not slash you into pieces?!"

She waved her hand once more and this time a nasty small hurricane appeared. It made its way fast to Natsu but before Natsu could do anything, it dissipated in front of him.

"What is happening?!" Asteria screamed in confusion.

Erza spun her brain to think. Asteria used her wind to block Gray's attack but she used her own hands to block Natsu's. Not to mention her wind could not hurt Natsu and just disappeared. Why?

Erza then realized something.

"Natsu! It's Lucy!" Erza said. "Lucy's soul is protecting you, because she is your mate!"

Natsu gasped and looked at Lucy's glowing body. "Luce?" he whispered.

"Impossible! She's your mate?" Asteria wailed. "She's a dragon's mate?"

Just then, Lucy's body thumped and Asteria wailed in pain while holding her head. "My head! My head! It hurts so much!"

Lucy's body thumped louder and Asteria wailed even louder. Her head hurt so much, it felt like it would explode. "My head!"

"Luce!" Natsu called.

"Damn you, Lucy Heartfilia!" Asteria gritted her teeth. "You promised me to set me free! You promised to help me!"

Lucy's body thumped once more. _I_ _ **will**_ _help you, if you told me the truth. You lied to me, Asteria, and you're about to hurt my family. You're about to hurt Natsu_.

"You promised me!" Asteria wailed in pain. "LET ME BE FREE!"

 _Then I will_.

Lucy's body stopped glowing but instead a circle of light appeared. Few seconds later, Loke appeared.

"Loke?" Natsu said.

"Let the light be your judge, Asteria!" Loke charged his fist. "Regulus Impact!"

"NOOO!" Asteria screamed as Loke's light engulfed her. Her body dissipated into the light, releasing a golden orb which entered Lucy's body.

"Luce!" Natsu made his way to her and cradled her in his arms. "Luce! Can you hear me?"

"She'll be fine, Natsu." Loke assured. "Her soul has returned to her body."

"Loke, tell us what happened exactly." Erza said.

Loke nodded his head. "When Asteria's consciousness rose because she felt Lucy's strong magic power, there was a turbulence in the Celestial World. It took us awhile to realize that the turbulence was caused by Asteria, because the last Celestial Princess that existed was Anna Heartfilia."

"Lucy's ancestor from 400 years ago." Erza said.

"Correct. When we realized that Lucy is the current Celestial Princess, we knew that Asteria has also detected her presence. We tried to warn her, but as you know, we were too late. Lucy has been contacted by Asteria and her light is fighting for dominance with Lucy's own inside of her. Which explained her sudden fever as the two power collided." Loke continued. "We cannot materialize ourselves because we are protecting our world from the turbulence Asteria caused and all we can do is tell Lucy to run away, because we knew Asteria is here. We hoped that if Lucy was too far away from Asteria, the connection will be lost and Asteria will come back to her slumber. Lucy's soul was about to be devoured completely by Asteria until you came, Natsu. Your presence as her mate snapped her consciousness back and she fought back. This time, she gained an upper hand, pushed by her desire to protect you, Fairy Tail, and the spirits. That is when I managed to open my door and finished Asteria."

"So, she's dead?" Erza asked. "What about the balance?"

"No worries." Loke smiled. "I only destroyed her consciousness, not her power. She will forever be our balancer, but she cannot muster any thoughts of rebelling any longer."

Gray sighed in relief. "Well, as long as you guys are okay."

"And as a sign of our thanks for saving our world once again," Loke fished out something from his pocket and threw it to Gray which he caugh. "this lacrima will show you where to find the Earth God Dragon. The real one, of course."

"Thank you, Loke." Erza smiled.

"My pleasure. I leave my princess in your care." Loke smiled back and disappeared.

"Well, let's leave them be for awhile." Erza softly said and nudged her head towards Natsu and Lucy. The others smiled and followed Erza to give their friends some space together.

"Luce," Natsu called. "wake up."

Natsu stroke Lucy's cheek softly. "Don't leave me. Please. We will forever be together, remember?"

"Please wake up. Don't leave me. I love you." Natsu whispered.

"I love you too."

Natsu lifted his head upon hearing Lucy's whisper and his eyes met with Lucy's brown eyes. "Hey." she called.

"Hey." Natsu smiled. "Welcome back."

"I'm home." Lucy smiled back.

Natsu dipped down and kissed Lucy gently. Lucy closed her eyes and melted into the kiss. They stayed that way for a few more seconds before parting for air.

"I love you." Natsu whispered.

Lucy smiled and lifted her hand to caress Natsu's cheek. "And I love you. Together forever, right?"

Natsu dipped down once more. "Forever."

He kissed Lucy once more as the sun started to rise.

* * *

 **Done ! *hurray***

 **I just love this couple way too much !**

 **So, what do you think ?**

 **Don't forget to leave your review :D**


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